X
by msjgatsby
Summary: Paige is working undercover on her case. Mike shows up unannounced and everything goes wrong.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I'm sorry! It's hard to find motivation for these stories anymore (Including/Especially White Flag). Season 3 still seems far away (And I find myself dreading it after the crap that was Season 2) and there aren't that many new fanfictions or articles to get me in the mood. I promise I'm working on it slowly. Until then... Here's the beginning of a new short story.

* * *

He knew she'd hate him being here.

Maybe that was why he was doing it.

Recently, it seemed like nothing gave Mike pleasure except watching her tight smile and the flash of anger in her green eyes. He told himself he didn't care what she thought of him anymore, that he was over her, but it didn't explain why he would go out of his way to get a rise out of her. Johnny said they were acting like children. Maybe they were, but when it was Johnny pointing it out, perhaps there was a problem.

Still, Mike couldn't stop.

Maybe Johnny was right. Living in Graceland did seem like a delayed adolescence. The Solano case was done. Sid was dead. Mike should head back to DC, like a grown up, but it never seemed like quite the right time. Plus his presence in Graceland seemed to be the one thing that annoyed Paige most. How is he supposed to continue punishing her for what she did, if he's across the country?

And he needed to punish her. God knows she had punished him. Right up to the moment of actually sending Sid Markum, the one man he hated most in the world, to his bedside to kill him. He almost succeeded. Technically, he did succeed if you went by the doctor's chart. Mike was legally dead for a full two minutes before his heart was started again. Ironically, Mike's "death" was the turning point needed for him to get ahead of Markum.

It was also the turning point for Mike and Paige's relationship. Up until that point, Paige had held all the power. All the cards. Even when Mike was technically her boss, she had control over him. Mike would do anything to please her, and always was falling short of her approval. But nothing he could have done compared to the betrayal of Paige giving him up to Sid.

Now the tables were turned. Mike was no longer groveling to Paige, trying again and again to be worthy of her love. Now she had screwed up, and she knew it. Sure, she had apologized. Since he'd come back, she'd been contrite. She'd tried to avoid fighting with him, and Mike sincerely believed she regretted her decision. Mike could have been gracious, but finally having the higher moral ground (not through any achievement of his own) he refused to forgive her.

He wanted her to suffer the way he had. So he bitterly let her take the blame for more than her share. Part of him did it because of the way she'd been unable to forgive him for so long. Part of him did it because fighting seemed the only way he knew how to interact with her anymore. Part of him didn't know why he did it.

The one nice thing about having your enemy being the person you once loved most, is you know all the right buttons to press. Mike knows her. He knows all of her pet peeves and all her tells. She hated the way he'd check up on her cases. The way he'd always find some way to tie them in with his. At home she could choose to ignore or confront his passive aggressiveness, but at work she had no choice but to remain professional. She hated it.

It brought Mike undeniable pleasure to watch her squirm, her fist clenched at her side, knowing she wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face.

Which is why he was here now at this club. He knew she was already here. Mike held up his arms with a smarmy smile as he was patted down before entering beyond the velvet rope of the VIP room. He saw her laughing, lounging on a couch surrounded by men fawning over her. If only they knew how deadly she was. Mike's eyes travel up her long legs to the tight velvet of her red dress. She played the part of bait so well. How could these men look at anything but her?

When his eyes reach her laughing face, she looks right at him and smiles broadly. This catches him off guard. This is not the tight lipped what-the-fuck-are-you-doing-here smile he normally receives these days. This smile is warm and radiating, like there's genuinely no one in the world she would rather see than Mike right now.

Mike stands frozen for a moment. He forgot the effect that look had on him. His mouth feels suddenly dry and his palms sweaty. He is instantly on guard.

"Yo! Ricky? Who's this pretty boy you let in here? You queer?" One of the men, the leader of the group, stands up and Mike sees the gun tucked into the back of his pants.

"He says he was invited." The bouncer, presumably Ricky, shrugs.

This is not good. Mike may not need Paige's help in getting himself killed tonight. The two large men look ready to cause him bodily harm, and there's at least six other armed men in this room alone.

"He's with me." Before a fight can break out, Paige stands up and slinks across the room towards him. Mike eyes her nervously. Something about her tonight seems more dangerous than all the armed criminals in the room combined.

"I don't know P, he looks kind of square." The leader addresses Paige, but is still looking at Mike doubtfully.

"No. He's cool." Paige assures the leader, leaning in closer and putting her hands on his shoulder as she too apraises Mike.

"So he's down to party?"

"Oh yeah…" Paige's purr would melt Mike if he weren't so worried he was going to get himself shot.

"Fine. Welcome to our friend." The guy hands Paige something small, and she takes it in her hand, walking forward to where Mike stands.

"Thanks." Mike says to the leader. He's finally beginning to relax a bit, but not fully, because Paige is approaching and looks like she might devour him.

"Ready for some fun, Tiger?" She wraps one hand around Mike's neck and whispers in his ear.

"I'm ready for anything." Mike says back cockily. If she can play a character, so can he. He doesn't know what her angle is tonight, but she's obviously deep under cover. She's playing the part to perfection, and Mike forgot what an amazing actress the girl was.

"Perfect."

Mike said he was ready for anything, but he was not ready for her to bring her hand up to wrap her lips around her index finger, slowly sucking as she pulls it out seductively. Mike's throat goes dry as he watches entranced. The only thing that could surprise him more is when she then uses the hand around his neck to pull him forward where she kisses him passionately, replacing her finger with his tongue. She kisses him deeply, and Mike is so shocked he can't help but melt into her kiss. His brain barely notices the pill that transfers from her tongue to his, and easily slides down his throat.

The room of criminals seems to slip away, as Mike is flooded with the memories that accompany the taste and feel of her lips on his. After a moment, she finally pulls away. Giving him a cocky grin, she turns and walks back to her seat on the couch, holding him by the hand to easily lead him behind her.

"Welcome to the party my man." The banger grins as everyone settles back in making room for Mike in the circle.

"What did I just take?" Mike asks the group as he sits down next to Paige who is reclining with her eyes closed and a smile on her face.

"Just a little Trail Mix my friend. Relax. You'll feel it in a couple minutes." The leader says with a knowing grin. Mike mentally tries to remember what Trail Mix is slang for so he can know what symptoms he'll need to fake. He tries to visual the slang manual, but it's the memory of a condescending lecture from Johnny and Paige that reminds him of the drug concoction he just took. He almost laughs aloud when he remembers. Trail Mix is slang for a mix of MDMA (also known as Ecstacy) and Viagra to combat the impotence issues caused by the Ecstacy.

The Ecstacy symptoms shouldn't be too hard to fake. The darkness of the room should help his pupils dilate naturally and he can grind his teeth. He can fake the other symptoms of the high. He can become euphorically happy, hyper, loving and obsessed with touch. There may be difficulty faking the effects of the Viagra... Then again Mike thinks, looking at Paige's long legs stretched out to brush against his, maybe not.

Mike relaxes back in the plush seat. Ecstacy normally takes about half an hour to kick in, so he can still act normal for now. Everyone around him seems to be rolling already, so no one's watching him to closely. He looks at the beautiful blonde next to him who is running her fingers over the velvet couch with her eyes closed. She's so good.

"What did I really take?" Mike leans in to whisper in Paige's ear.

Her eyes slowly flutter open to lock with his and he sees for the first time the intense dilation of her eyes. She doesn't need to say anything for Mike to know the answer.

"Oh shit."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Never done ecstasy, so my accounting may be incredibly off base. I did a bunch of googling of people's experiences and general studies of the drugs. So apologies if I got anything really off here.

* * *

Mike's fingers have turned white where he grips the steering wheel.

The second Mike had realized Paige had slipped him real ecstasy, he had immediately gone to work getting her out of that club. He knew they didn't have much time until the pill kicked in, and he had to get her home to a safe, controlled environment before both of them were under the influence of the drug.

He'd clean up the mess later of their hasty retreat from the scene. Most of the guys in he room were so high, they might not even remember. Right now his only goal was getting her somewhere safe. He had gotten her in the car, and made her sit in the backseat, hoping it would help keep her hands to herself. He had to draw firm boundary lines now while he was still thinking straight.

As the headlights in front of him begin to blur into brightly colored beams, he lets out a deep sigh of defeat through gritted teeth and pulls over to the side of the road. Turning off the engine, he sits back in his seat with a sigh.

"What's the matter?" Paige asks from the backseat where Mike has banished her.

"I can't drive." Mike hisses the words through gritted teeth, closing his eyes as he adjusts to the feeling of the drug taking hold of him. "The headlights of the other cars. They're starting to look like rainbows."

"So what are we going to do?" Paige asks.

"Wait until it passes." Mike says, adjusting his seat in preparation for what he's sure is going to be a long night. He doesn't know what else to do. Neither of them should drive while high, and calling anyone to come pick them up would involve admitting that they were rolling on illegal drugs they'd taken on the clock.

"That's your plan then?" Paige is all smiles in the backseat, staring at him with unmasked adoration.

"No, my plan was not to do drugs tonight." Mike says, settling back in his seat preparing himself for whatever he was about to go through. Other than alcohol he'd never done any sort of drug before and he wasn't sure what to expect.

He'd read all the drug manuals. He knew all the textbook effects of MDMA, but he'd never experienced it and he was preparing himself for any chemical alterations the drug might have on him. Preparing for the heightened senses, the fast heart beat, the dry mouth. He imagined it was probably like feeling drunk, which means it might lower his inhibitions. With Paige in the car that could be a problem. He wasn't sure emotionally what to prepare for. He knew that people reported feeling overly happy, energetic and confident while on Ex.

"Are you mad at me, Mikey?"

"I should be…" Mike sighs, but as the tendrils of the drug wrap around his brain he finds it hard to be mad about anything. Especially hard to be mad at someone as beautiful as Paige.

"What does it feel like?" Paige asks, leaning up between the seats. Mike squeezes his eyes shut even tighter. He can feel her breath tickling the skin of his neck and it nearly makes him come undone.

"The lights are blurring. I feel it in my legs… like a tingle. You know that feeling of butterflies in your stomach? It's like that, just in my legs. It's rising up. Like it's filling my whole body. My stomach feels a little naucious, but almost in a good way. It's good. I feel… good." Mike licks his tongue out between his dry lips.

"It's going to get even better." Paige's promise strokes his soul, and Mike knows somehow this is just the beginning. He's not anywhere near his peak yet. He does almost feel drunk, just completely different. A little more in control.

"What are you doing? Stay… Stay back there." Mike says as Paige reaches up like she's going to climb into the front seat. She looks over at him and grins, before pressing a kiss to his cheek. The simple touch of her lips feels like fire, silk and sparkles all at once. It leaves Mike breathless.

"Relax Mike. I'm just turning on the radio." She turns on the stereo and then returns to the backseat, and Mike nearly asks her to come back up to the front with him. A soft hum of music fills the car, and Mike can feel the beat of the bass massaging up his spine.

For a few minutes they both lay there silently. Him in the front seat. Her in the back. Both in their own little worlds letting the music caress their skin. After a few minutes, Mike can't hold it in anymore. He needs to talk to her. He wants to hear what she's thinking.

"I feel it now. I'm there." He says, with a smile. He knows he should be mad at her, but he feels too good to hold a grudge. For the first time in months, pretty much the first moment since the morning after he woke up beside her, Mike feels happy. He feels more than happy. He feels perfect.

"Really?" She grins looking over at him with a smile that Mike can't help but return. She's seemingly amused at the sight of Mike high.

"Yep." Mike sighs, releasing his seat so it reclines back. Looking up at her with a smile he admits, "Yeah… this feels amazing."

"Give me your hand." Paige instructs, and Mike automatically turns so he's reclining on his side and holds his hand out to her without question. Paige begins to trace patterns on his palm with her long fingernails and Mike's eyes flutter shut in bliss. For a moment he lays there and just becomes entrenched in the feeling of her nails on him. Opening his eyes he looks up and sees her eyes watching his face carefully and he's reminded of sitting in the house, both their fingers covered in soot as she taught him about cooking heroin.

"You're right. That feels awesome." Mike sighs, as he looks at her with new eyes. He's never felt more connected to someone. It's like all his walls are down and no one exists but her and him in their little car. She smiles down at him. and then relaxes in the back seat lying down as well. The two stare up at the moonroof as the rain begins to add a new beat to the music and their pulses.

The music seeps through their skin and the rain falls on the windshield being lit up by the lights from passing cars. The two just lie there. Their hands are intertwined over both their heads between them as their fingers twist and touch the others hand. Mike feels like he's left the world and all it's troubles behind and nothing exists outside Mike and Paige in this car.

"This is fun." Paige giggles, looking over at him with a soft smile she adds, "You're fun."

"You sound surprised." Mike says, his thumb rubbing against her palm.

"I'd forgotten."

"Yeah. I know what you mean." He brings their entwined fingers up to his lips and kisses the back of her hand. "When did we stop having fun?"

"I know, right?! We used to have so much fun!" Paige squeals and sits up on her knees in the backseat hovering over him, her face close in excitement.

"Yeah… we really did! What the hell happened?" Mike laughs, sitting up on his elbows to turn to look at her.

"I don't know. We were having fun, and then you left for DC and when you came back you were different."

"As I remember when I first came back we had too much fun…" Mike grins up at her, as memories of her naked beneath him flash through his mind.

"Not that kind of fun!" Paige slaps his arm playfully and even that feels incredible. "I mean that was fun, but not like before when we played football and did our chores together and could just hang out and drink beer."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Mike settles back down lying on his seat, crossing his arms behind his head and staring up through the skylight at the stars beyond. "You remember Hector's Taco's, all the beach bonfires, the Drop?"

"Oh my God, the Drop! I forgot about that place. Why did we stop going?" Paige asks.

"They have a small clientele, and we kept running into guys you'd hooked up with." Mike answers, though he doesn't feel the same push of jealousy he normally does. It feels impossible to feel anything negative about anything when he's here in this bubble with Paige.

"So I had the occasional awkward small talk. So what? The drinks were cheap. It doesn't bother me." Paige is now sitting up on her knees looking up through the moon roof like she might open it.

"Well it bothered me." Mike laughs, looking down at her with an adoring smile "God, I was so crazy about you."

"I know." Paige admits, looking down shyly, "You used to look at me like…"

Her voice trails off and she bites her lip as she remembers all the times she caught Mike just staring at her. He had a certain look that she'd never seen him give anyone else, and when he stared at her that way it would ignite a fire in her stomach. Just remembering it makes her feel warm again.

"Like…?" Mike prompts.

"Like I was all you ever wanted." Paige answers, the drugs making her inexplicably open and brave.

"You are." Mike answers simply. All the drama, all the pain and fighting is gone. Mike knows it's there, but at the moment he can't feel anything but an intense longing and love for the woman across from him.

"I was." Paige corrects him with a small smile.

"Paige…" Mike stares up at her, suddenly wanting to fix everything but not knowing how to begin.

They need to talk about this. All of it. And ok, maybe talking about everything while they're rolling off of E in a car isn't the best way to have that talk, but right now it feels like exactly what they should be doing because Mike wants to know her. To share everything with her. To completely bare his soul and talk about everything that's happened and everything he wants to happen in the future.

"Close your eyes." Paige says softly.

"What are you doing?" Mike asks, letting his eyes shut.

"Your hair is too perfect." Paige whispers with a grin, her fingers coming up to run through his hair and Mike lets out a shaky breath as the ecstasy enhances the sensation tenfold. He can physically feel the bliss coming out in waves from her fingers and traveling down his body.

He opens his eyes and sees her leaning over him from the backseat. Her fingers stroke through his hair and lightly over his face, and when he looks into her eyes he swears he can see her soul. Her hair hangs down around her face and Mike reaches up to touch it. It feels like silk flowing over his fingers.

His hand reaches higher until his fingers wrap around the back of her neck, and gently he pulls her down closer to him. Leaning over him, she kisses him softly. From the angle he's lying in his reclined seat at, she's actually kissing him upside down. It's like nothing he's experienced before. It completely changes the dynamic of the kiss, and for a moment Mike is completely breathless as he experiences her lips in a completely new light.

Their lips softly move against each others, the new angle freeing their noses from bumping, and allowing their tongues to press directly against the others.

Trying to sit up and turn around without his lips leaving hers is a challenge, but he manages to. Finally he's on all fours on his seat reaching in the back seat to kiss her. Paige responds to the kiss, her fingers still running through his hair as he leans back further into the backseat.

The invisible line Mike drew in the car is melting away with each brush of their lips. Soon it will barely be a memory...


	3. Chapter 3

The world explodes.

Or maybe it just feels that way. It has taken him hours, and there were several times he wasn't sure he would even get there, but release finally floods his body it hits him like a tidal wave. Everything feels magnified. The touch. The taste. The emotions. Yet while usually after finishing, he would feel a sense of calm and tiredness, tonight after he spills between them, he feels more alive than he has ever felt before.

"I feel like a superhero." Mike laughs between gasps for air. His face is flushed, and he's soaked in sweat, but he can't help but lean down to kiss Paige again in triumph.

"You should. That was amazing." Paige pants beneath him in the backseat of the car.

"Do you want to keep going?" Mike offers, kissing his way down her stomach. "I'm done, but I not tired. If you want, we could focus on you for another round."

"Mmmm… as tempting as it is, I've lost count how many times I've gone." Paige grins up at him and he gives her a satisfied smirk with the knowledge that he's been able to get her off multiple times throughout the past few hours. Of course the ecstasy probably helped a bit, but Mike was definitely a key player.

"We are going to be so sore tomorrow." Paige groans with a laugh as Mike kisses her again with what could be the start of another round.

"Worth it." Mike murmers, kissing her again. He doesn't think he could get it up again if his life depended on it, but he still feels the need to be close to her. To touch her. His need to make love to her isn't so much about sexual urges as emotional cravings.

"I'll say." Paige smiles back up at him and the two kiss again.

"I'm not kidding. I could go another round if you want." Mike assures her as he kisses her causing her to laugh. Her laugh dances over his skin like sparkling fairies.

"We can't. It's been hours. If we keep up like this, we'll die." Paige squeals.

"Yeah, but what a way to go." Mike pants.

"We can't! I don't want to put up with the house saying I killed you again." Paige's tone is light hearted and now it's Mike's turn to laugh. Maybe it's the drugs (it's definitely the drugs) but somehow all the fighting, the drama, the feelings of grief and betrayal are gone, and they can actually somehow find a way to joke about all the shit that's gone down between them.

"Good point. Here, drink this." Mike reaches through the sink into the trunk and hands her a water bottle, taking one for himself as well.

"You're such a boyscout. I love that about you." Paige laughs accepting the water bottle and sitting up in the seat.

"You think that's impressive? Watch this." Mike grins, reaching further back into the trunk and pulling out a blanket and a towel. He wipes some of the thick fog from the window to check outside to see it's stopped raining. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?" Paige asks, grabbing Mike's oxford shirt to button up over her and pulling her underwear back on. At this moment she feels like she'd follow him anywhere. Like the two of them together could do anything. Plus the inside of the car is hot, and humid, dripping with the smell of pheromones, sweat and sex. Fresh air would be welcome.

"You'll see." Mike fishes around for his boxers and jeans and then opens the door reaching in for her hand. When she accepts it, he pulls her out in one quick motion up into his arms with the blanket and the towel carrying her laughing to the expanse of empty beach next to the road where they pulled over.

The rain has stopped, but the sand is still damp. Putting down the towel on the sand facing the ocean, Mike sits and motions for Paige to join him. She sits beside him, appreciating the cool ocean breeze through her hair and he wraps the blanket around them both.

"So what happened tonight? Why did you take it?" Mike asks as the two stare out at the ocean.

"I told myself at the time that I didn't have a choice. That my cover depended on it, but I think maybe… I just wanted to feel happy again. I'd forgotten what it felt like." Paige answers, curling up under Mike's arm. "I know it's not an excuse but the world just seemed so bleak. I needed to escape. Even if it was only for a night."

"I know what you mean." Mike kisses the top of her head. He remembers the depression, but it doesn't affect him now. Now he feels perfect in this moment, able to talk to her openly about anything. "Why did you drug me?"

"To punish you." Paige grins wickedly up at him, "Is it working?"

"Not even a little." Mike kisses her hair and pulls her closer, looking out at the stars shining over the ocean. "This is the best night of my life. Is it always like this?"

"I don't know. I hear the first high is the best, but it's not physically addictive. Some people get psychologically addicted chasing that first high, though."

"I can see that. What was your first time like?"

"Like this." Paige entwines her fingers with his and kisses him on the lips.

"You've never done this before?" Mike pulls back to ask.

"Don't sound so surprised. I'm a good girl!" Paige giggles.

"I know." Mike admits adoringly, the drug having him feeling incredibly honest and sentimental. "When I got back to DC, I may have run a background check on you… or sixteen."

"You were cyber stalking me?" Paige seems more touched than disturbed.

"I missed you. Every time I learned something new about you... it was addictive. Like a little bit of home."

**"You could have just called you know. Freak." Paige ruffles his hair affectionately. **

"You were across the ocean. And as I recall, you were the one who put in for my transfer. I didn't think I had a chance." Mike reminds her. "I mean you made me feel like such an ass after I kissed you the first time. Do you know how much courage it took me to try again?"

"As I remember, you seemed pretty confident."

"Well the towel dropping helped. I can take a hint." Mike grins at the memory, his voice developing a more shy serious tone, "Like when you sent Sid to kill me."

Paige's eyes drift over Mike's face before leaning in to kiss him gently. She chides him softly, "Don't be a buzzkill."

"Fair enough." Mike pulls her in for a hug, resting his chin on top her head and staring out at the ocean. "You want to hear the dirt I found on you?"

"Do I want to know?" Paige asks with a grin.

"You were valedictorian. You were a cheerleader for less than a month." Mike grins, "I'm surprised you lasted that long actually. . . I did find an arrest record for you in middle school. Really? Middle school?"

"Ok! That was not my fault! I can explain that." Paige smacks his chest.

"Oh I'm sure you can criminal." Mike smiles down at her.

The conversation playfully went on until it fell into a comfortable silence staring out at the ocean wrapped up in each other's arms.

"Thank you." Mike whispers into her hair.

"For what?" Paige asks, she's a few hours ahead of Mike in her trip, and is starting to feel the effects fade.

"For tonight."

"I drugged you. Don't thank me." Paige rolls her eyes.

She can feel herself coming down from the high, the melancholy setting back in. Soon it will be daylight, and Mike and her will be sober. The connection with him she's been feeling so strongly for the last few hours will disappear and she'll be alone again.

They'll fight.

They'll hurt.

He'll leave.

She's been waiting for him to leave ever since they killed Sid. She doesn't know what's keeping him anymore. Part of her wants him to go so she can try for closure and move on. The other part of her fears the day he leaves more than anything.

She snuggles closure back into his arms and watches as the sun begins to rise.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Finishing this one too! Only White Flag left. (That one probably won't get finished before the premiere)

* * *

The sun beats down on the windows of the car, and Mike squints at the glare. He looks down and finds himself alone and shirtless in the backseat of his car, covered by a sandy blanket. Looking around Paige is nowhere to be found, but he sees Graceland looming next to the parked car. Mike gets up and stretches, cracking his neck to the side trying to recover from the uncomfortably small backseat and the ache of his muscles. Seeing a small note in the front seat in Paige's handwriting, he sleepily grabs the pills and water accompanying it and heads into the house.

Walking up the stares he doesn't go to his room, he heads straight to Paige's room instead. He knocks on the door and leans against the doorframe, waiting for her response. Running his hand through his hair which is sticking out in every direction, he nods at Jakes who is staring at him strangely as he passes by on his way to the stairs.

"Morning." Mike mutters, his voice sounding hoarse to his own ears.

"Not again..." Jakes grumbles as he shakes his head and continues down the stairs.

"Come in!" He hears Paige's voice call out from inside and walks into her room, upon being invited.

"What's this?" Mike grumbles, holding up the pill she left for him with the note on the seat of the car.

"5-HTP. It'll help with the hangover symptoms." Paige says defensively from where she lies in bed. She has the sheets pulled up over her, and is eyeing him nervously.

"Cool." Mike says simply, popping the pill and finishing off the rest of his water. Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he tosses the empty water bottle in the trash and sets down his jacket and oxford on the back of her desk chair.

"That's it?" Paige asks in surprise to Mike's casual reaction.

When he came to her door she was prepared for the world's biggest lecture. About how she was irresponsible and reckless on the case last night. About how she took and gave him illegal drugs and endangered the mission and how he should report her. About how what happened between them last night was stupid and how it didn't mean anything. About how she took all of that intimacy from them when she sent Sid to his hospital bed. She was not prepared for Mike's casual greeting and casual acceptance of her help.

"Is what it?" Mike asks, as he reaches down to begin taking off his flip flops.

"You're just going to take it?" Paige asks, wondering when he was going to launch into lecture mode.

"The note said 'take this'." Mike shrugs at her.

"And you trust me?" Paige asks, because she can't remember the last time that she asked Mike to do anything and it didn't start some massive world war three type argument.

Mike thinks this over for a moment, before shrugging in a nonchalant fashion. "Yeah… Scoot over." Mike says, pulling up her sheets and climbing in under the covers next to her.

"Are you still high?" Paige is confused as to what's happening here. He seems sober, albeit sleepy she looks at his eyes and they don't seem dilated, just relaxed.

"No. You got anything planned today?" Mike asks her as he adjusts in the bed.

Paige considers lying. It's her one day off and she's feeling drained from coming down from the X and her muscles are sore from overuse from all the hours of sex the night before. She was exhausted, yet still unable to sleep deeply. She was planning on laying around all day. She hopes Mike isn't planning on sticking her on a case or anything.

"No…" She finally answers cautiously.

"Good." Mike says simply, rolling over to face her, propping his head on his arm. "I just want to lay around and do nothing today."

"And you want to lay around… here?" Paige asks, incredulously.

"Is that a problem?" Mike asks, like he's realizing for the first time it might be.

"Are you sure you're not still high?" Paige does not recognize this Mike in her bed. She expected once the drugs wore off he would be pissed as hell, back to judging her, fighting her every move. Rejecting her apologies.

"Look at my pupils. I'm not high." Mike says with a sigh, adjusting so he lays even closer. Paige can see, that indeed his eyes look the same shade of blue she always loved. They narrow in concern at her, "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. I just... look I'm sorry. I know what I did last night was stupid and reckless. If you want to report me, or kick me out of Graceland fine, but just know that things have been-"

"Paige, stop! Look, I'm not going to report you. It's fine. No one got hurt. We can regroup on how we're going to write our reports to match up, but our cover wasn't blown. If anything, it might have helped. Jesus, after everything you know about what I've left off the books with Briggs and the Solano's, you really think I'm going to report you for a little E?" Mike says, flopping on his back and staring up at the ceiling.

"The old Mike would have."

"Which Mike are you remembering? The one who took you knocked up to a church to shakedown a woman for her son's address? The one who robbed a bank? The Mike who made up the undercover mission to get a minute alone with you when Johnny wanted you for backup for Carlos, and Jakes begged for help watching his tapes?" Mike grins over at her listing a mere handful of things he left off the books.

"That was back when you liked me." Paige says sadly.

"Do you not remember last night?" Mike asks sarcastically, "It was pretty obvious I liked you."

Paige blushes at the memory, but is still unsettled, waiting for the other shoe to drop. This seems so unreal. Almost more so than last night. At least then she knew why he was acting that way, he was tripping on E. This morning though, he should be back to hating her and yet, this Mike was almost... loving and sweet. Like when they first started hooking up. Sensing her hesitation, Mike pulls her into a hug, looking down at her comfortingly when she doesn't relax in his arms.

"Look, I know things between us have been rough recently, but last night… Last night was amazing. Come on. Admit it. That was incredible." He whispers to her.

"So you had a good trip and realized now you love the Molly. Why are you in my bed?" Paige says, knowing as she says the words she is picking another fight. She can't stop herself. She doesn't know why she can't stop fighting with Mike. She doesn't want it to be like this. The two of them always at each other's throats. She's tired of the fights, of the guilt.

"Because it's not just that. Last night, I felt like something changed. Something changed with us." Mike insists, "Look, I had fun being with you. I always do. Even when we're fighting I can't stay away from you. Yes, the drugs helped me get out of my own way, but I don't need to be high to know I want to be with you, Paige."

"Mike, what are you even saying?"

"I'm saying I want to be with you, and I'm sorry."

"Look I'm not going to lie. I miss that. I miss you, but Mike we just keep hurting each other. How can you forgive me after all I've done? We can't be high all the time."

"I know. But today, let's just hang out. Be together. I'm tired of pretending like I don't care about you Paige. I shouldn't have to." Mike insists, trying to choose his words to be as clear as possible as what he wants. She can kick him out if she doesn't want the same thing, but if they're not together, it won't be of his choosing. Not anymore. Mike knows what he wants.

"It's just the drugs-" Paige starts to argue, wanting to believe him, but scared to.

"It's not." He cuts her off before she can finish. "Come on. One day at a time."

"And you're sure... You... You want to get back together? After all that?" Paige asks shyly. Mike smiles warmly down at her, knowing now that everything is going to be alright.

"Paige, I am so miserably sober right now and I still feel closer to you than to anyone else." He says honestly. It was true. Everything hurt, he feels the sharp contrast of coming down from the elation of the Ecstacy painfully in every fiber of his body. Yet at the same time for the first time in months he feels at peace. There's no where else he would rather be right now than in her bed.

"Ok." She finally says, accepting his earnestness and snuggling up against his side.

"Ok." He whispers back, kissing her hair. A moment of silence passes as the two just soak in the gravity of what those little words imply. Somehow, just like that, they're Mike and Paige again instead of the two lost warring souls they'd been on their own for months. His hand strokes her hair and she tilts her face up to kiss his lips and the two lazily kiss in the sunlight from the window. The kisses become more heated, and Paige's hand drifts down Mike's abdomen in a familiar path.

"Seriously. Everything hurts. My muscles feel like I ran a marathon." Mike groans, pulling away from her lips and hand with a laugh. Part of him wants to seal what they just decided by making love to her, but his body is just not up to the task.

"Well you kind of did." Paige smirks up at him, finally settling into the crook of his arm with a grin.

He grins cockily down at her. "By the way, Jakes saw me coming in here this morning. It won't be long until the whole house is talking."

"When they ask what got us back together, let's not mention the drug use, ok?" Paige laughs.

"Agreed." Mike says quickly, "But if you want to mention the amazing sexual stamina I exhibited last night, I'd be ok with that."

"I'll see what I can do Rockstar." Paige laughs, kissing him again, the two of them sharing a whole different moment of ecstasy.


End file.
